From the Beginning
by prematureinfants
Summary: Joey/OC kaylee's fic from the beginning. rated m because im a paranoid bastard ((may or may not be discontinued?))
1. The Day It All Began

_**Sunday September 2nd, 2007 **_

_**The Day It All Began**_

"What else could you possibly _need_ in this store, Kaylee?"

"_Everything."_ Joey had been overhearing an argument between a ginger girl and her cousin for the past ten minutes they had spent in Newbury Comics. It was his first full week working at the store part-time as a cashier. His shift ended six minutes ago but he purposely took his time because he found her Bostonian accent quite adorable. "I mean look at this; where else could you possibly get all of this in one beautiful, heavenly, _downright sexy_ store?"

Joey had to duck his head down and suppress a laugh because they were on their way back to pay. Seeing from the Harry Potter buttons, Chewbacca backpack, TARDIS keychain, and Gryffindor tie; she was quite the nerdy fangirl. Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he began to scan the barcodes on the tags. The cousin frowned at the button rack; she probably had the more inappropriate side facing in their direction. "…And your total comes to forty-six dollars and sixty-two cents." He announced after tapping the screen several times.

The fangirl looked up at him with big, brown disappointed eyes. "Really? Dammit! Katie, can I borrow a ten? It's the last tie." Her cousin glared back at her and she pulled out her empty pockets. Trying to help, he came up with a solution. "If you want, we can hold on to that for you if you come back sometime soon." Joey offered, even though he wasn't entirely sure if he could. However, it wouldn't be hard just to hide it somewhere in the back…

"Could you do that please? I should be getting my check tomorrow." A wide grin spread across her pale freckled face. He nodded back and bagged everything else for her, shoving the tie into his pocket so he could hide it in the back once they left. She gave one more "thank you" to him before leaving with her purchased items. He laughed and shook his head at her excited outbursts from a few minutes ago and headed to the back room to go find somewhere to hide the tie.

He found a corner behind the supply boxes filled with used CDs and tucked it in safely before leaving for the night.

_**Monday September 3rd, 2007 **_

As expected, the orange-haired girl he met yesterday was back at the same time with enough money to buy the tie. She couldn't thank him enough and actually hugged him and bought him a tea from Starbucks after his shift. They'd shared some small talk, and Joey learned that her favorite color is green; she loves Star Wars, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and musicals; and also that she was from Massachusetts, but she'd be going back the next day.

He didn't know that it'd be two years until they met again.


	2. Me And My Dick

_**Wednesday September 9th, 2009 **_

_Me and My Dick_ would be premiering in a month and Joey had so much going through his head right now that he honestly, didn't need to worry about. His academics were doing fine, friends have been made through the upcoming production, but it was all the pressure from being the star of the show that made him uneasy.

In a hurry to get to rehearsals, he bolted past familiar faces around the campus to get to the auditorium. His blue headband began to slip off his head slowly with each step he took, so pulling it back into place was necessary every few seconds. Once at the corner of the block, he saw that the traffic light was currently red. Jogging across the street, he went to open the front door the auditorium. Joey's forehead was met with the door with a thud, making him curse and wince.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" A vaguely familiar Bostonian accent questioned him as he rubbed the struck area. He looked up to see big brown eyes scanning about his face to see if he was severely hurt. Wavy, orange locks of hair hung over her shoulders. She stuck a hand out to help him up, "I'm so sorry, I'm just really in a rush and I don't know where to find my goddamn building…" She readjusted her bag strap over her shoulder after Joey had accepted her assistance back onto his feet.

"Well what building are you looking for?" He asked, eying the several buttons that covered her bag.

"Just the general area for the Art & Design; I can find my way to the right place, just not the actual… school, I guess."

This was Joey's third year of college, so he knew the campus pretty well. "Art & Design's across the street down here – you'll see the sign out on front." He pointed down the road of identical looking schools and looked over to the ginger to see her nod in understanding. "Okay, thanks!" She flashed a friendly smile and began walking in the direction towards the right school, calling, "Sorry again about smashing your face in with the door!" over her shoulder.

Joey remembered why he got hit in the head in the first place and then rushed back to the auditorium, knowing he'd get some kind of lecture from the director about attendance.

_**Saturday October 31st, 2009 **_

It was the closing night of _Me and My Dick_ and everyone was finally letting loose as they went backstage to greet friends and given flowers by family members. It was hard for him to understand why anyone would've invited their family – it wouldn't be what you considered a family show. "Hey." Someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around to see his acquaintance with her ginger hair pulled back into a bun. A small bouquet of pink and yellow tulips was held in her hands. "You did a really good job out there, the previous nights, too…" She looked down at the flowers and then looked back up at Joey. "These are for you by the way," The shorter ginger held them out before him.

"Oh, thanks!" Joey grinned with his crooked jaw, which his fictional-self had been criticized for. He examined the pink ribbon that held them all together, twisting the curled ends between his fingers. "We haven't properly introduced each other, have we?" He stuck out his hand that was free for her to shake, "I'm Joey by the way."

"Yeah, I read the playbill. I'm Kaylee." She took his larger hand and gave a polite shake and smile, "Could you sign it, too? I just really like musicals and... yeah." A black Sharpie marker was pulled out of her hoodie pocket and handed to him.

Joey happily obliged, neatly writing his signature on the blank back page of the pamphlet, along with a thank-you note and a smiley face. "Thanks, Joey. I guess I'll see you around then?" Kaylee took a step back to leave him to his celebrating friends. He looked around him to see the main cast members hugging and praising each other. "Well, I'm not doing anything important at the moment – let me walk you out, at least." He offered, looking out into the dark night through the open double doors.

She raised an eyebrow and shrugged, "Okay then, whatever floats your boat." Said Kaylee. He stayed at her side, swimming through the crowds of people who were also on their way out. Their breath was just barely visible outside. The cool winds that made his nose numb helped ease his adrenaline from the performance. She shivered and snuggled her face deeper into her sweater. Joey kicked the brown and orange leaves on the ground as they turned into the parking lot. "Thanks for walking me back." She fumbled with her keys to unlock the first car they came to.

"This is yours?" His jaw dropped at the white and black vintage muscle car that she was now halfway in.

"Yep, she's a 1970 Buick 'GSX' Stage 1. I got her as a going-away-to-college present." Kaylee stood awkwardly with one foot still on the ground. He nodded, peering through the windshield to see the black leather interior. "Okay, just drive home safely. Try not to run over any little kids in costumes." He took a step back as she shut the door and waved. "I won't, I promise." She smirked and turned the key in the ignition. Joey padded back to the bustling auditorium with his hands in his pockets.


	3. Lunch

_**Thursday November 5th, 2009**_

Sniffles and colds were starting to become more common throughout the campus. Luckily Joey hasn't been infected with either yet. He was actually on time for class so there was no rush. Me And My Dick was a success, so the director says, and he was generally in a good mood. Today he wore his grey beanie, a dark green sweater and his glasses. It was almost winter; which meant that he could finally dress comfortably. He focused on his feet as they shifted beneath him. "Hey," Joey perked his head up to see Kaylee wave and walk past him to her building. Her hair draped around her face in locks of orange. "Hi," He stopped for a second and found himself turning completely around and in her direction at her side.

"So what do you do? Like, as a major?" He asked, looking at the right side of her face as he tried to engage in conversation.

"Well I've always wanted to make my own comic book, so I enrolled in the drawing courses here." She explained before taking a sip of what smelled like coffee from her thermos. "Well that's nice!" Joey grinned and Kaylee looked up at him for a split second, "Hey, so maybe later on today, do you want to get lunch with some of my friends? They're a bit weird at first but you'll learn to love them."

She nodded, and her ginger hair bounced with it. "Where should we meet up?" Kaylee asked, looking at their surroundings to find some kind of landmark for them to remember. "Do you know your way around yet? Like the back of your hand? Because you can get lost in here pretty easily." Joey smiled when she sheepishly shook her head and looked down.

"That's fine; I'll just meet you right outside when you're done, okay?" He pointed to a tree close next to them as reached they reached the entrance. Kaylee nodded and opened the door. "You should probably start heading back – you have less than five minutes to get to class." Joey's smile slipped off his face and he broke out in a sprint back to his own class, waving over his shoulder. His binders in his bag shifted from left to right with each step. Leaves were kicked up on the way and then taken away by the wind that almost snatched his beanie, too.

Joey couldn't remember the last time he'd ran like that to class - probably because he'd never really explored the Art & Design area enough to realize the distance between there and his school. He yanked open the front door and bolted up the two flights of stairs to his class. Discreetly twisting open the doorknob, he took his seat next to Darren. "Where were you?" He asked Joey, who was still panting.

"Walking a friend to her class. She's having lunch with us, too." Darren instantly took interest and rested his head in his hands, a dopey smile on his face. "What's her name?" He questioned in a girly tone. Joey only glared at him, already knowing what Darren was thinking. "Her name is Kaylee and she is a friend, Darren. Just try not to scare her away when you meet her." Joey resumed to what he had originally been planning to do, which was to find the goddamned pencil that fell into the bottom of his bag. Darren gasped and dramatically placed a hand over his chest.

"I would never! I actually want to help you get lai-"

"Darren! She's a friend!"

"Well Jesus Christ, who's the lucky lady in this situation?" Joe snuck up behind the two and let his arms hang over their shoulders. "This girl Kaylee. She's coming to lunch with us and we need to give her a warm welcome." Darren looked over to his right at the new addition to their group to spread the juicy info. At this point, Joey had given up. So what if it's been a while since he had a relationship? Maybe he doesn't need one. There's never anything wrong with having another friend who just so happens to be a girl.

However with these guys it's just all suspicions of secret relationships.

"Jaylee, huh? I ship it." Another voice came from the other side of him. "Lo! If anything it better be a BrOTP." He hissed at Lauren, who stood slightly taller than he in his seat, ruffling his hair playfully. "I call being captain of this!" Brian Holden raised his hand voluntarily from the other side of the room. Joey let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose where his glasses once sat, knowing that it was going to be a long, long day.

Looking back down at his pencil a few hours later, he had noticed the indents made by his teeth. Joey frowned at the missing chips of paint, knowing they had most likely fallen into his mouth. His eyes darted over to the clock near the door; twelve-thirteen. Only two more minutes and then he'd go meet up with Kaylee outside of the Art & Design building near the tree he had pointed to. He kept his gaze on the clock, even though it seemed to make time pass more slowly. Once the longest hand passed the twelve again he began to pack up – sliding in his binder and aimlessly dropping his pencil into the depths of his bag.

Joey was the first one out of the class and he jogged a good portion of the way to try to avoid his friends from following him. He could see Kaylee sitting against the trunk of the tree, drawing something on a sketch pad. Her hair covered her face as she intently made the outline of a person. He loomed over her and watched for a second before disturbing her from her work. "You ready?" He leaned against the tree beside her.

"Oh, yeah." She carefully placed the sketch pad into her bag and tucked her mechanical pencil behind her ear, "So where are we heading to?"

"This place near the campus, Red Hawk. It's great; they have the best onion rings." Joey shoved his hands in his pocket and slowed down his pace a bit for her. Keeping their gazes ahead of them, they walked in silence for the majority of the way. "So what were you drawing back there?"

"Oh, our assignment was to try out different styles of characters to see what suited us best. Pretty much like testing our skills and stuff… And I guess you do theater?" She brushed stray hairs out of her face as the wind gently blew.

"Yeah, I like acting and pretty much performing in general." They came closer to the School of Music, Theater & Dance and all of Joey's friends were impatiently waiting outside, doing stupid things to pass the time. Joe Walker was giving Lauren piggyback rides up and down the street; Dylan, Brosenthal and Jaime shared a pack of Skittles, sitting cross-legged against the brick wall of the school; and the rest of the guys chatted near the curb of the sidewalk, keeping a lookout for Joey.

Joe returned from his journey to the end of the sidewalk and let Lauren down when he caught a glimpse of Joey and the new addition to the family known as Kaylee. It physically hurt him to try and keep a straight face as he and his friend had a silent conversation, using only facial expressions, as they crossed the not-so-busy street. "Hey," Joe simply greeted the newcomer who obviously didn't know how bizarre all of them could be yet, "I'm Joe." She nodded and shook his hand in response, "Kaylee."

Joey led her around the group of people to introduce everyone. Thankfully, no one started any bullshit. Lauren and Jaime fired away with questions about her favorite things, hometown, and college experience so far on their way to the restaurant. "You will freaking LOVE the food here. I mean like, I like all kinds of food but this is fantastic." Lauren exclaimed and made herself even more hungry by thinking about food. Joey walked on the other side of Jaime and listened intently to their conversation since the rest of the group remained pretty much silent. The buttons on Kaylee's bag made a faint rattling noise as they walked. Jaime studied them, and noticed a Gryffindor button facing her side. "Do you like Harry Potter, Kaylee?" She asked.

"Yeah, I love HP. And Star Wars. And Doctor Who." The ginger smiled and glanced at the other buttons that climbed all the way up and down her bag straps. "I'm quite the nerd."

"Well we are too!" Dylan called enthusiastically over his shoulder with a thumbs up, "Embrace the nerdiness." Joey saw that Kaylee looked a lot more relieved after knowing that they had fictional obsessions as well. "Did you see the Harry Potter musical we did last year?" Brosenthal slowed down to join the small social circle. "No, my first year sucked – never again will I enroll in all AP classes. Too much work." She sighed and shook her head.

The group had seemed to take interest in her and chatted about their fandoms and ships for the whole way. Once seated in a round booth in the corner, everyone knew what to get since they were regulars except for Kaylee who didn't take that long to decide. "So do you guys know what musical you'll be doing in the spring?" She kept the conversation going between them with a new subject to chat about. "That's actually a top-secret surprise. We're kind of forbidden to speak about it because then it wouldn't be a surprise." Brolden explained from four people down. Joey was sandwiched in between Kaylee and Jaime on the left end of the table.

Conversation flowed fluidly around the table with a few laughs before drinks came. Their waitress with dark braids and skin carefully placed each of the glasses with the right person, having their orders almost memorized since they were regulars. They all nodded when she asked if the wanted 'The Usual', which left Kaylee to order. "Can I have a cheeseburger with bacon? No toppings or condiments." Kaylee requested and handed her menu to the waitress after she had written down the order.

Joey admired her simple taste and kept note of it. She wasn't a salad girl either, which made everything seem so much better. She could get used to his friends pretty easily, especially Lauren. "So what school do you go to, Kaylee?" Darren asked from across the table. She looked up from her Cherry Coke and set the wrapper from her straw right beside it in a crumpled ball. "I'm in the Art & Design School; for the drawing courses." She explained after swallowing a sip of her drink.

"What do you draw? Anime?" Brosenthal questioned, taking interest in her drawing ability. "A little bit of everything I guess." Kaylee pulled out a brown sketchbook from her bag that was placed between her feet. "These are just freestyle ones that don't really apply to anything in particular." She added as Brian, Dylan and Lauren peeked through the pages.

"Aww, this clown is adorable!" Lauren exclaimed, pointing at Kaylee's drawing of a slender woman with thick makeup, short burgundy hair, and a very flashy outfit, sitting with her legs crossed.

"That's actually Columbia from Rocky Horror. It's one of my favorite musicals." She smiled and took a sip of her Cherry Coke. "What's Rocky Horror?" Jaime asked, "Like I've heard of it, I just never got around to watching it."

Kaylee furrowed her eyebrows and concentrated on the table in front of her, pondering of how to explain it. "It's… I'm not even sure how to explain it. It's very, very strange. So there's this couple, Brad and Janet, and it's basically like Hansel and Gretel except that the witch is a transsexual Transylvanian and instead of being eaten they get fucked. It sounds weird, but it's great."

Jaime's mouth opened and she tilted her head to the side. She brushed some of her blonde hair out of her face and began laughing to herself. "Sounds fantastic, I'd watch it." Jaime readjusted herself and Lauren nodded in agreement to her statement, handing back her sketchbook when the food was served by their waitress. Joey found Kaylee to be quite intriguing; not many people had the fandom obsessions like how they had. He picked up his steak and cheese sandwich and took a bite since his stomach began to growl at the smell of it.

Every once in a while he'd glance to his side where Kaylee sat, contently nomming on her burger. Her relaxed brown eyes fixed on nothing in particular, just zoning out on the waxed wooden table. Joey didn't say much for the rest of their lunch break and walked Kaylee back to the Art & Design School.

"They weren't too creepy, were they?" He smirked to the girl beside him and she shook her head and smiled.

"If anything, I thought I'd be the total weirdo but we seem to be on a similar level of insanity." She shrugged and brushed her bangs off of her eyes when the wind blew. "Thanks for inviting me out, again." They came to the front doors of the school and faced each other before parting.

"Any time," Joey beamed with his crooked jaw and slowly began to take steps back, "You're part of the group now, so welcome and I guess I'll see you around!"

She gave a polite wave and disappeared into the building that was so foreign to him. He turned and dashed back to his next class before the bell rung.


	4. Unexpected Surprises

_**Saturday November 28th, 2009 **_

It's been two days since Thanksgiving, which meant the Christmas shopping season has already begun. This also meant that Kaylee's shifts at the Newbury Comics were extended by a half hour. She checked the time on her phone at least twice every minute. Now it was 4:20 – she should have left twenty minutes ago if it weren't for her lengthened work hours. Not much was going on in the store since there were multiple other stores in the mall that attracted the boring crowd of people who did their shopping that day. This gave her extra time to work on her French homework, which she desperately needed.

Leaning against the cashier counter, she dropped her head into one hand and began to answer the questions typed in the foreign language. She answered them with flying colors and put the assignment back in her sleek black binder then slid that into her school bag. Kaylee let out a sigh and buried her face in her hands, slowly but surely dying of boredom behind the register.

"You okay there?" Someone from the other side of the counter asked. Her head popped up to see Joey there, leaning at her level with a sweet smile. His hands were tucked away in the large pouch of his crimson sweater and no glasses were worn today, so nothing was in between the two pairs of brown eyes. The edges of her mouth curved upwards as well now that he was here.

"Yeah, just want to get out of here. Nothing's happening." She pulled herself up and yawned, followed with a simple stretch of her arms.

"Well, when do you get out?" He asked, standing up straighter and admired the posters on display behind her. Kaylee grabbed her phone from the pocket of her jeans and frowned at the time.

"Two minutes ago…" She motioned for Joey to wait at the counter as she went to the back room to get the next coworker in line to the register and then swooped one arm through her bag strap. "So what brings you here?" The ginger spoke a little louder so Joey could hear her over the drone of the shoppers.

"Just came to browse, look around for possible gifts for Christmas." He shrugged and glanced at the commotion on the escalators, "I actually used to work in there, too." He nodded over his shoulder back to the Newbury Comics where they had just left from.

"How long ago was that?" Her eyebrows snapped together in question as they passed the food court.

"Like… about two years ago." He looked up for a split second to try to remember when he had his job. "But it was only for the summer." They went through the glass revolving door that led to the front parking lot. Clouds started to gather and the wind howled, taking the remnants of leaves along with it.

"Do you have a ride back?" Kaylee asked Joey when her arms had goose bumps starting the form. She made a mental note that she probably should start putting the short sleeves away or at least get a sweater.

"Yeah, I can get my way back." The two came to a halt at the driver's side of Kaylee's car that Joey still found interesting. She turned to him and tilted her head to the side in doubt. "What? Public transportation isn't that bad."

"I'll be more than happy to give you a ride, you know." She offered, starting the car with the remote on her keys.

"Are you sure? I mean I could just-"

"Just let a friend do you a favor." Kaylee insisted, grabbing his shoulders from behind and guiding him around the car to the passenger side.

"If you say so," Joey shrugged and opened the door.

"So, you're going back to your apartment, right?" She questioned, checking both ways through the windshield as she pulled out of the parking lot.

"Yeah. Thanks for the ride, Kay." He gave a warm smile and then stopped himself for a moment. "Is it okay if I call you that? Like, as a nickname or should it just be Kaylee?"

"Kay's fine with me." They got off of the highway at the first exit they came to. He watched as the speedometer slowly started pointing to the left and the car slow down to a comfortable 25 miles per hour. They sat in silence, stuck in front of a red light for some time until they actually started driving again when the light changed back to green. Joey glanced at Kaylee and had to do a double-take out through her window.

"Kay!" She looked at him with worry for a moment and suddenly stopped herself from saying anything further when a blue sedan hit one of her headlights. "Are you okay?" She ignored his question and stepped out of her car to check the damage. To at least make an attempt to be helpful, he got out too and stood by her side.

"You can_not_ be serious right now," Kaylee muttered to herself as she crouched down to be at level with the busted headlight, tracing over the new dent made in her front end of her muscle car. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she walked over to the driver who finally decided to go check on the damage they've done. She had her jet black hair pulled up into an effortless bun with an Abercrombie & Fitch hoodie and black yoga pants. "You do know you'll be paying for this, right?" Kaylee's brown eyes shot daggers into the icy blue ones of the woman, whose endless apologies didn't mean anything at all. "Do you know what she is?" Joey watched as his friend pointed back to her car, "She's a 1970 Buick 'GSX' Stage 1. She is better than your piece of shit Mazda and yes, I _will_ be seeing your ass in court!"

Joey saw this as a great time to step in and restrain Kaylee before she went completely apeshit. Usually screaming in people's face meant that a punch was soon to be thrown, so he used his common sense and grabbed her by the shoulders and retreated back to her vehicle. "Hey, I know you're pissed off right now but beating people isn't going to solve much." He tried to explain but knew that his message wasn't fully getting across to her. He noticed that Kaylee's freckled cheeks were now a dark pink from her rage. Pulling out her phone, she opened up to a memo page and returned to the driver.

"Name?" She rather demanded than asked through clenched teeth to keep herself from losing it.

"…What?" The woman looked at her strange and Kaylee was ready to full out rant.

"Have you taken driver's ed before? This is what you do when some dumbass bashes into your car: you get their name, address, phone number, license plate, details of the car model, and their VIN. Now just answer my fucking questions and we won't have a problem." Her mouth pulled into a tight frown and it took all her strength not to turn into the Incredible Hulk and destroy everything. "You know what – forget it. I can't _stand you_ and I don't even know your name." Exiting from the memo composer page, she dialed 9-1-1 with trembling fingers and waited until an operator got on the line.

Joey knew that the night wasn't going to end pretty for them and felt sorry that he couldn't do anything to help her out. Soon enough, he could hear sirens wailing from around the corner and flashing blue lights. Kaylee paced in front of him and kept a weak fist up to her mouth until a cop with a buzz cut approached her for questioning.

His bald backup officer was trying to talk to the woman who caused the accident and from what Joey saw, wouldn't listen to any requests. His phone buzzed in his pocket with a text from Darren.

"Where are you? We're ordering Chinese you know, it should be here sometime soon."

Shaking his head to himself, he typed back a reply. "I'm gonna be a while. Kaylee and I kind of got into an accident and I'm pretty sure that the other driver isn't sober."

"Ma'am, did you mind if we take a look in the vehicle?" Joey overheard the backup cop talking to the deranged driver. She crossed her arms, saying something incoherent, and rolled her eyes to let him poke and probe through her glove compartment and middle console. After Kaylee was finished with her questioning, she walked over to Joey with her hands in her pockets.

"Sorry for keeping you out here, if you want I could get you a cab or –"

"Don't apologize. After this, do you want to stop by for dinner? Everyone already ordered Chinese."

"Sure," She said with an exasperated sigh and ran a hand through her hair, looking back at the two cops, who were instructing her to lean on the front of her Mazda with her hands behind her back. "Arrested already? Jesus, that was easy."

"I think it's probably because of the massive amount of pot that he just found." Joey stated when the bald officer put the Ziploc bag of weed in the cop car.

"She still better be paying for this…" Kaylee sounded more satisfied and crossed her arms, shooting daggers with her eyes at the high woman in handcuffs. After another brief conversation with one of the officers, they were free to go at 5:58.

"Do you mind if I put on music or?" Kaylee turned to him with her index finger hovering over one of the buttons of the car radio. Joey shook his head and gave a polite smile, watching as she plugged in her iPod and put on her John Mayer playlist. Once situated, she drove off and relaxed at the sound of his voice.

"What song is this?" He asked to hopefully move onto a lighter subject.

"Stop This Train by John Mayer." She sighed and turned onto the street where he could vaguely hear the conversation and laughter from the open window. She twisted the key out of the ignition and stepped out of the car, checking the dent again before walking with Joey up the two flights of stairs, following the saltiness of soy sauce and fried food in wafting from their front door. They had left it unlocked for the two so no one noticed them come in.

"…So I think that a sequel would be –"

"We're finally here!" Joey called over Brian so that he wouldn't give away the surprise since Kaylee was there.

"Sorry about your car, Special K." Jaime sympathized with a frown on the couch, nibbling at lo mein off of a Styrofoam plate. "Sit your ass down and eat some food before it gets cold." Lauren scooted a little closer to Joe Walker on the edge of the couch and away from Jaime to make room for Kaylee.

"Thanks, Jaime," She sat in the empty space and pulled a chicken wing out of the greasy white box, "I really need something to nom on right now before I evolve into a pterodactyl and fly into the sun."

Joey joined the boys who sat around the table of food on the floor, and listened to the conversation around the room.

"Is there anything you want to do?" Brolden suggested, "that we could all do like as a group?"

Looking onto the scratched surface of the old coffee table in deep thought, Kaylee stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth until she came up with an idea. "Do you guys want to watch Rocky Horror by any chance?"


	5. Christmas

_**Wednesday December 23**__**rd**__**, 2009 **_

Two days until Christmas and Joey finally got gifts for all his friends. The apartment smelled like scented pinecones and made him want to curl up into a ball and sleep forever. Holiday seasons were always the most comforting for him. Earlier that week, everyone came over to decorate the faux tree with ribbons and glass ornaments; hang their stockings up over the wide archway and made a new one for Kaylee; and did enough baking to last them all until New Year's Eve. Everything was pretty much set, except for the fact that Joey had to wrap up a few of the gifts that he bought at last minute at ten that night.

His phone chimed on his mattress with a text from Lauren. "_Don't forget, this is a __**formal**__ party, guys. Dress nice! Love, your favorite bastard." _

He stared at it for a few seconds with his eyebrows furrowed together before tossing it back onto his bed with a sigh. Formal attire really wasn't his thing. He just wanted all of them to wear warm comfortable sweaters and Snuggies and sit around the heater and unwrap gifts with cookies and milk.

But a _formal dinner party? _Wasn't his style at all.

He glared at the glowing screen while taping down the last edge of the decorative paper, contemplating whether he should argue or not. When it turned black he just shook his head and told himself to suck it up. It couldn't possibly be _that _bad. It's just dinner with friends, he could do this. He wrote Kaylee's name on the gift he just wrapped with a black Sharpie and then stacked all the gifts in his arms and moved out to go shove them under the tree. Darren was sprawled out on the couch, watching a repeat of a Christmas special of a sitcom. "Did you hear from Lo yet?" He asked in a nasally tone, turning his attention from the TV to Joey as he found little nooks to wedge in the presents under the tree.

"Yeah. Why formal? It's so… different." He sighed and looked back at Darren, whose hazel eyes gleamed in greens and blues and reds from the flashing lights on the tree. He replied with a shrug and a nod of understanding. "So what are you watching?" Joey sat down next to his curly haired friend on the other side of the couch and noticed for the first time how _drained_ he looked. His eyes were halfway opened with dark bags underneath.

Before he could respond, he sneezed into his hands with a jerk of his head. "I don't even know, to be honest." Darren said with a sniff and snuggled deeper in his hoodie and fuzzy blanket.

Joey left his seat to go turn on the kettle and get a cough drop for his friend who was now wheezing pretty badly. "You okay?" He looked to the shorter man on the couch with a red face from his dry cough. Darren nodded back and mouthed a thank you when the lozenge was tossed into the crevasse of the blanket.

"Try to take it easy," Joey advised and reclined back in his spot while he waited for the kettle to start whistling. He peeked out the window on the other side of Darren and viewed the falling flakes as they began to slowly pile up on the sidewalk below. Only one man passed in a thick navy blue jacket and a black knitted hat outside while walking their Labrador, both of their breaths fogging before their faces. He wished that the heating of their apartment would work better, now realizing that he couldn't feel his bare toes and curled them into themselves. After contemplating whether or not is was worth getting sick over the winter break, he didn't take the chance and left to go get a pair of socks.

Drawing out a random pair from his drawer, he sat on the edge of his mattress and stretched them over his freezing feet. The kettle finally began to abruptly shriek and gave him his cue to rush over to the tiny kitchen to try and keep the peaceful atmosphere around him. He twisted the white knob until the flame of the stove went out and flicked the top of the spout upwards. Joey reached for a mug and a tea bag out of the jar labeled "chamomile", then dipped the bag in and around the area within the mug before padding back to the living room, deciding not to keep poor Darren waiting.

"Here, it's chamo–" His sentence was interrupted by a loud snore from his sleeping friend. Sighing, he turned off the TV with the remote that had fallen on the floor out of his hand and tossed another blanket on him just so he wouldn't be as bad in the morning. Now he was left with a cup of tea that he had no idea what to do with. He shrugged to himself and took a sip, and scowled at the scorching burn his tongue now had. Retreating back to his room, he turned on the bedside lamp and decided to reread one of his many comic books that he kept in a neat stack under his bed. This time he pulled out the 14th and last issue of the _Superman Confidential_ series that he remembered he got from a small shop that sold all kinds of books before they ran out of business.

Sitting contently with his legs crossed, he flipped open the cover page that started getting worn at the edges and read through each box with the warm dark blue mug in his hands. Joey lost his concentration on the comic when his phone chimed in his pocket. He quickly pressed it against the fabric around it to make as minimal noise as possible and then turned the sound off before checking his new text from Kaylee.

"_What if you lifted up a toilet seat and there was a face staring back at you." _

A grin spread across his face at the random subject and replied with an "Are you okay?" before setting it back down to his side and picking up his book again. Less than a minute later, he got a response.

"_I honestly don't think so; I've been losing my mind since I got home. Probably because of the essay I'm supposed to be writing that I've been working on for the past few hours. Who knows. How about you?" _

"Well Darren's sick now, I just finished wrapping gifts, and now I'm sitting around with a cup of tea that I didn't really want. Nothing special. Did Lauren text you about the party yet?"

"_Yeah, I never thought you'd guys be so fancy for Christmas. I mean like you're all so close to each other that I never thought it'd really matter what you wore. Oh well, that's just me rambling while I'm half asleep." _

Joey put the comic book to the side and laid flat on his back while he typed back a reply. "Me either. And if you're tired then just sleep! You have the whole vacation to do your work."

"_Oh yeah. That'd be pretty smart. I'd probably be writing down random bullshit if I didn't sleep… So I guess I'll see you tomorrow! Night." _

"Night, Kay." He hit send and placed his phone on the bedside table. Speaking of sleep, he probably would need it since tomorrow would be quite a long day. Closing the comic book, he slid it under his bed and twisted the small knob under the lampshade. Now that he was in the almost complete darkness, he suddenly began to feel colder and tucked himself under the three layers of blankets. Something didn't quite feel right, but he ignored the feeling and closed his eyes.

_**Thursday December 24**__**th**__**, 2009 **_

That's what he forgot. Joey didn't even want to open his eyes because they felt so dry. Knowing that he should still just take out his contacts and wear glasses for the day, he rolled out of bed and walked over to the bathroom to do so. He filled each side of his case with the solution that sat next to the toothbrush holder. Before he went forth to scraping at his eyeball, Joey washed his hands and shook them out. He leaned toward the mirror and ran his finger lightly over his brown eyes to pull out the little silicone bastards.

After screwing on the lids of his case, he rubbed his eyes vigorously and searched blindly around the house for his glasses. He wandered into the kitchen and squinted to read the time on the microwave. Joey then peeked around the fridge to make breakfast. Eggs, milk, and syrup were placed on the counter next to the stove and then he reached in the back of the spice cabinet for cinnamon. He remembered what his intention was originally and continued to look for his glasses.

Joey passed the living room to see Darren still snoring like last night before turning into his room, where he found his glasses on his dresser. Now seeing more clearly, he put back the paprika he had mistaken for cinnamon and exchanged it for the correct spice in the cabinet above the stove. He whisked the contents together in a bowl with a fork and buttered the skillet that was under a flame. Darren emerged from the archway and tossed the loaf of bread on top of the microwave onto the counter next to the bowl.

"Feeling any better?" Joey asked Darren as he untwined the large knot that kept the bag sealed. Darren looked over his shoulder from the coffee machine and smiled with a nod. "Well that's good," Joey did the talking for him, knowing that his throat was probably a little dry and sore. "Breakfast should be done soon."

The contents of the pan sizzled and Darren didn't do much but sit around, hoping not to spread his cold to Joey or anyone else. The coffee quenched his strained throat and also began to wake him up. "So when is everyone coming over?" the shorter man leaned against the counter with both of his hands wrapped around his mug for warmth.

"I think around like 2 or so; Lauren is coming with this chicken that goes in the oven for a few hours for dinner, so I'd just say be ready by 2ish." He flipped the pieces of French toast onto their other side and let them sit for a good minute before serving them onto a plate for Darren. He continued to make breakfast for himself – dipping another piece of bread into the mixture and letting it fizz and sizzle on the pan.

Darren sat on the living room couch with his food and watched the snow outside fall from the light grey sky. Having snow fall on Christmas was possibly the best thing ever to complete the holiday season vibe. He set his plate beside him and turned on the TV as he waited for Joey to finish up his cooking. Sniffles weren't as bad as they were yesterday, which made him have more hope of ending his cold by the end of the break. Soon enough his friend came back with his own steaming plate and the bottle of syrup.

"Are you doing what I think you're doing?" Joey asked as Darren pulled up the screensavers section of the On Demand menu.

"Yep. What else could we possibly do to spend this holiday season?" He drizzled syrup onto his French toast while his friend was busy cutting his. They reclined side-by-side with their own blankets and watched the special two-hour edition of the Christmas Yule Log burn on their screen until there was a knock on their door.

Darren got up first to answer the door while Joey collected the plates and silverware to wash. The taller man stood before the sink and twisted the knobs to get a comforting warm temperature to wash the dishes in water that wouldn't make his hands melt.

"Merry Christmas!" He heard a pair of shrill voices squeak from the front door. Lauren wore a red sweater dress with black leggings and a matching black belt and Joe simply had a tee shirt, hoodie and jeans. "Well you guys came earlier than I expected," Darren exclaimed, "but what the hell – no one can wait for the holidays. Get your frostbitten asses in here."

Lauren came through the door with Joe Walker behind her, helping carry in gifts for everyone. She placed a plastic bag with the chicken on an unoccupied counter. Joey was finishing up the last fork in the sink when she came in and gave her a bone crushing hug before he cleared out of the kitchen to give Lauren her cooking space. Joe and Darren were finding spaces where they could stuff the gifts under the tree and Joey was left with nothing much to do besides sit around and chat while he waited for more people to come.

Lauren was seasoning the raw bird with all sorts of spices and could be heard humming Journey songs under her breath from where the three of them sat. They all found themselves watching the Yule Log burn on the TV screen for the next two hours, which is when everyone _really_ began to pile in. Now they were only waiting for Dylan, Brosenthal, and Kaylee. Brolden and Jaime were prepping their own side dishes in the kitchen now and Darren served an appetizer of crackers and canned cheese.

Someone knocked on the door and Joey went to go retrieve since he had nothing else to do at the moment. "Hey," He greeted warmly with a smile as Kaylee stood before him with a dark green sweater and skinny jeans, trying to balance eight small gift bags and some sort of side dish that she had made herself in a round glass pan with foil sealed over the top.

"Hey!" She grinned and blew her bangs out of her eyes. He took the red and white striped bags from her and ushered her into the living room to unwind with the others. "I've got this," He assured her and put the pan of food in the kitchen on a surface that wasn't occupied by mixing bowls and ingredients. Jaime pulled her dish out of the oven and Brian had just passed him to join the chatter and chuckles in the next room.

He returned with his friends and sat on the floor in between the tree and Kaylee. Darren busted out his guitar and had a jam session with different carols and songs. The artificial fireplace was still on, giving off no heat whatsoever. Kaylee stayed quiet most of the time and only responded when asked a question. Her knees were tucked up to her chest and her arms snaked around her shins. "You okay?" Joey leaned over to the timid girl next to him and whispered. She smiled and nodded back to him, but something didn't add up right. His eyes concentrated on her pale fingers fiddling with the hem of her skinny jeans where her ankles were covered.

Lauren left to check her chicken in the oven and growled in frustration loud enough for Joe Walker to hear and go check on her. "I think I left the bag of the guts in there…" She sucked her teeth and face-palmed herself. "Sorry guys." She returned and stood in the archway with Joe at her side.

A round of "It's okay's" and "Don't worry about it's" were echoed off of the walls of the apartment. Kaylee's voice was barely audible, but Joey could tell that she wasn't necessarily trying to seem so quiet. "I think it may be time to break out the actual cheeriness of the holidays," Joe revealed a bottle of Kahlua liqueur. Shrill cheers and clapping suddenly made the get-together more livelier. Lauren got red solo cups to match the Christmas-y feel and separated them for Joe to fill.

"Brian's not coming, guys. He said he got really sick." Dylan announced aloud from the recently received text message on his phone. Everyone "aww'd" in sync, passing cups of the drink down to others. Joey was handed his from Kaylee.

"Are you sure, Kaylee?" Joey overheard Brolden offering her a cup. She shook her head and smiled.

"Can't; I'm only twenty. Next May I'll try." She declined his offer and continued to sit on the floor and watch everyone else laugh and drink. Joey looked down into his cup, being greeted by his vague, coffee-colored reflection. He set his drink down on the table in front of him so that she wouldn't feel as left out. He also watched as Jaime mistook his glass for hers, so she basically already downed two. Both of their brown eyes concentrated on the tipsy crowd and how once they reached the bottom of one bottle, somehow came up with another.

Kaylee got up and walked out into the kitchen abruptly, and was soon followed by Joey. "You sure you're okay? You're really quiet." He asked as she ate a chocolate covered strawberry from the pan she brought.

She held up a slender finger for her to swallow first before speaking. "I don't like people." Joey knitted his eyebrows together and leaned on the counter beside her, picking out his own strawberry. "I mean like, it's not your fault at all. You guys are great but it's like-"

"Anxiety?"

"Exactly!" Her eyes widened as she emphasized the word. "It's just so much easier with smaller groups, you know?" Her shoulders slumped and her gaze was focused straight ahead at nothing in particular. He nodded placed a hand on her shoulder as a friendly gesture.

"It's okay, if you want I'll try to find more one-on-one time so you're not as overwhelmed." He suggested, and she turned to face him and smiled at the request.

"Thanks, Joey." She sounded like she really meant it and it makes Joey's crooked grin grow on his face. Their friendly pep-talk came to an end when their totally wasted friends found their way out of the living room and all around the house. "No no no no no, Darren!" Joey warned his curly-haired roommate as he played with the knobs on stove, which would possibly make him catch himself on fire.

In a matter of seconds, the party was transferred into the kitchen and now the only sober person over the age of twenty-one had a million more problems. Kaylee sat back and watched the drunken crowd around her. Dylan had fallen over and sat on the floor, trying to regain balance in the far left corner; Lauren and Joe were having a sudden makeout session which made her wrinkle her nose; and then there was poor Joey scrambling around like a shepherd poking his sheep into place when needed.

"You enjoying yourself?" Brian appeared at her side and nearly made her jump out of her skin. From what she and Joey had watched, he hadn't drank as much as them.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She brushed a wavy lock of hair behind her ear and nodded, hoping that he wouldn't actually start a conversation.

"So how's classes?" He asked and obliviously ruined Kaylee's intentions of not having to talk.

"They suck. It's too much work."

"Don't be so hard on yourself now," One of his arms draped around her shoulder and she tensed underneath him. "It'll be all worth it and the end right?"

She awkwardly nodded and had an odd feeling in her gut as a horribly visible blush burned her freckled cheeks. Brian practically rubbed her shoulder didn't help, either. "So," He looked at her with glassy blue eyes. Kaylee could see how the whites were now of a pinkish hue and his breath reeked of alcohol and burn her own eyes. He inched toward her face, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

"Umm, okay I'm pretty sure you had too much to drink." She turned away and flinched as his hot breath shot down at her neck, causing each hair to stand straight up. He didn't get the idea.

His soft lips rested on her and made her flinch. "Brian?" She questioned, shrinking under his touch. As soon as she felt his tongue she pushed him off. "Okay, you need to back off." She cautioned him and gave a deadly glare. Brian held his hands up in defense but she only snorted and walked down the hallway, not entirely sure of where she was even going. Solitude and comfort was found in their bathroom, sitting at the edge of the tub.

Luckily, her phone had enough battery and good enough wifi connection to catch up on her newest chapters of an addictive Romione fanfiction, and to maybe perhaps find new ones. Suddenly her screen went completely black, followed by a chime. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, wondering how late it was and how long she had been sitting in a bathroom reading fanfiction.

The clock upon the wall to her left read 10:04 and suddenly made her feel even more tired. Sleep didn't come for her easily last night. In fact she spent most of the time fluffing pillows, rolling over onto her other side, or staring into the ceiling. It's been 3 hours that she'd spent in there busying herself with her phone, and now that that was gone, she had nothing else to do.

"Kay?" Joey called through the unusual silence in the apartment. The floorboards creaked beneath him as he padded over to knock on the door.

"Yeah, I'm here." She stood up and stretched to get blood flowing in her legs again. He laughed silently to himself when she opened the door and peered down both ends of the hall. Everyone had left and poor Joey did most of the cleaning up by himself. "Where's Darren?" She asked and felt more comfortable.

"He passed out like a half hour ago." He scratched the back of his head. The silence rung in their ears louder than ever. "Do you want food? It went completely forgotten…" He led the way back to the kitchen and began to peek under the foil of another pan. "There's… I'm not even sure myself." Joey pressed the wrap back down and began poking through the entire kitchen.

"There's still this," Kaylee held up a container of sugar cookies that sat on the counter in between the trays of food.

"Great," He smiled and turned on the flame beneath the kettle, "Do you want tea or something?"

"Sure." She waited for the water to boil with him and tied her hair up in a lazy bun.

"Any specific flavor?" He questioned as he grabbed two mugs and had his hand halfway into the jar of chamomile tea.

"Any is fine with me, thanks." She said when the kettle began to whistle. Joey immediately turned the knob off and poured the boiling water at about the three-fourths point. He dipped one bag in each of the mugs and left to go to the living room. Kaylee followed with the container and set it between the mugs on the coffee table.

"So why were you camping out in the bathroom, anyway?" He took a seat on one side of the couch and invited her to join him.

She hesitated at first, letting her face get engulfed in the steam, and then answered. "I'm not a fan of people."

"Hey," He scooted over and gave a comforting hug, "I can tell something's up. Did anything happen?"

"It was an accident; he doesn't even think of me like that, I'm sure…" Kaylee went of rambling and eventually told Joey the whole story. Her glass was about halfway gone before she tried one of the cookies. "He probably didn't even mean it, though." She said before taking a bite.

"I'm sorry for that, Kay." He looked heartbroken, knowing that one of his friends actually _did _scare her. "Do you want to open presents?"

"Why not?" Kaylee smiled and began to feel more of the cheery holiday spirit.


	6. The Whore Known As Mother Nature

_**Saturday December 26**__**th**__**, 2009 **_

Christmas Day for Joey was spent helping poor Darren nurse his severe hangover. Go to the store and get ginger ale, open the windows, clean out the vile bucket that was next to his bed every hour or so, refill the glass of ginger ale, prep a simple snack for him, close the goddamned windows, and just give me all the fucking painkillers in the cabinet were only a few of his steps from the repetitive cycle he had gone through that day.

Now that he was free today and showered with an abundance of "thank you's" from a fully sobered Darren, he could finally go meet up with Kaylee for lunch and hang out. He hadn't forgotten about how he had promised the one-on-one time with her since the whole crowd seemed to overwhelming for her. "Are you sure that you'll be okay?" Joey asked for the millionth time as he tied the laces of his shoes. Darren could finally stand on his own without collapsing in a vomiting heap on the floor and rolled his eyes at his friend as he waited for him to leave to lock the door behind him.

"I'll be fine, Joey. Get your ass outside, I can tell you're going even more insane with every minute you spend in this house." He gave the taller man an oddly comforting smile and opened the door for him with a flourish.

"Okay, I'll be back later." They bid each other a goodbye before the door shut between them and Joey plugged his earphones in with blink182 on full blast. The university wasn't that far from their apartment, he'd be there within a half hour or so. His breath was the only thing keeping his face from freezing and already had frostbitten fingers, even though they were burrowed deep in coat pockets. He shivered and shrunk into his coat. He still wasn't that sure of what they were going to do.

He passed the gas station to see a familiar black and white car parked in a space in front of the 24 hour 7 Eleven. Abandoning his planned route, he turned to the glass doors and held it open for an elderly woman about to light a cigarette as she exited before letting himself in. Peering over the aisles, he saw the top of a white and caramel colored trapper hat before the slushie machine. He passed the two aisles of candy and chips and turned the corner to see Kaylee, filling up a cup that can possibly be enough to last her the entire day, with the Cherry Coke slush.

"Only you'd get a slushie in the winter, huh?" He smirked and pulled out his earphones. She whipped her head in his direction and gave a half-hearted smile and a wave. "Why the long face?" He reached over her to get the longest straw and the appropriate sized cover for her cup.

"Mother Nature is the biggest whore on the face of the Earth. Oh, thanks." She said with monotone and snapped the cover back into place. "You can grab your own straw if you want."

Joey shrugged and took his own straw just in case and followed her down the next aisle that he passed. She stopped and gazed at the wall of candy with glassy brown eyes. "Yes, fantastic…" She insinuated under her breath with an almost evil grin as she pulled out two packs of sour gummy worms and a pack of Red Vines.

"You like Red Vines?" He asked as he eyed the raspberry licorice.

"They're fucking great." She lightened up a little and stood in line with him at her side. "Why are you only wearing a peacoat? It's freezing." She gently tugged at the sleeve of his coat and he only shrugged.

"It's not all _that bad_, I can kind of handle the cold." He explained while the cashier scanned the barcodes of all the purchased candy. Kaylee handed a faded $10 bill and waited for her change. "So is there anything you want to do or…?"

"I'll make lunch; do burgers sound okay?" She shoved the candy and change in the pocket of her parka and took a sip from the frozen drink.

"Sure," Joey smiled and held the door open for her. Kaylee gave a "thank you" and placed the cup on the hood of the car as she fumbled with her keys. Joey stood on the passenger side of the car and opened the door when she unlocked it for him.

"Heat?" She cast a knowing look to him when she asked and he nodded. Shifting the gear from park to reverse, she slowly backed out and was about to turn to drive when Joey got out of the car. "What the hell are you doing? Get in the-" He walked over to her side and returned with the forgotten slushie left on the top of the car. "Oh, thanks." She mumbled sheepishly and fit the drink in the cup holder.

Before turning onto the street she put her iPod on shuffle and set it down. They both sat at a red light and listened to the opening guitar notes of an Aerosmith song. "You want a Red Vine?" She opened the pack in her pocket and pulled out two twists.

"Thanks," He flashed a crooked smile and accepted the licorice, nomming into it the same time as she. Joey noticed as she double checked each side of the intersecting street before stepping on the gas again that she had been mouthing the words to the song. On the parts where Steven screeched "dream on" like a pterodactyl she scrunched her face and mimicked him in complete silence. Joey couldn't help but chuckle at her impersonation and won himself a glare. "What?"

"Nothing you're just adorable." He let that slip out and mentally beat the shit out of himself for it. A sudden "HA!" from her surprised him and made him flinch in his seat.

"Far from it," She added and turned into the dormitories of the college and peeked around for her designated spot.

Remembering that it was probably PMS that was putting her in a shitty mood, he chose not to object in case if she decided to break all of his fingers. She yanked the key from the ignition and grabbed her drink when the car was parked to head over to her building. Joey followed, unsure of how to find his way around the dorms. Feeling in his fingers were regained when they stepped into the bottom floor and ascended up two flights of stairs.

"So what are these places like? I've never actually been in here." He asked when they stopped at her door.

"They suck. Roommates suck. People suck. It's just… no." She unlocked the deadbolt and pushed the door open. "Oops, I think I spoke too soon."

A short, Hispanic girl lay sprawled over a bed, throwing darts onto a board on one side of the room that wasn't assumed to be Kaylee's. "I'm sure I'm not that bad," she mumbled with a heavy accent and took the antique pipe out of her mouth. The room stenched of smoke and tobacco and made Kaylee wrinkle her nose.

"You only are when you smoke when you _know_ we can't open the windows…" The ginger rolled her eyes and set her slushie on her dresser before she hung up her hat on a hook behind the door. Joey waited at the door awkwardly before being ushered in by Kaylee.

"Who's this?" She looked over her navy blue glasses, checking out the newcomer from head to toe. The suggestive tone put in her voice made him raise an eyebrow in wariness.

"My friend. Joey, this is Ana. Ana, Joey." Joey waved with a polite smile and observed his surroundings. Ana's side had infinite pictures of friends and letters taped along the wall that her bed was against. Kaylee's side had the top bunk with two desks below. Instead of pictures, her artwork was taped along the narrow strip of wall she had before it reached the ceiling.

"So what is Joey here for?" Ana rested her head in her hands and watched as Kaylee hung up her parka on the same hook.

"Lunch." Kaylee poked through the mini fridge that was hidden away in the corner of the room. Ana returned to her darts, sticking her tongue out of the side of her mouth as she concentrated on getting somewhere near the bull's-eye. "You can sit down, Joey. Make yourself at home."

He found his place at one of the desks in a swivel chair. The room seemed comfortable, despite the lingering smell of Ana's pipe. Kaylee pulled out a clear, rectangular container that held cooking utensils, one of them being a spatula that she needed, and a plugin skillet that was hid under her roommate's bed and stuck it into the socket next to their heater. In a medium sized plastic bowl was pre-seasoned raw meat, already rolled into neat patties, which was set next to the skillet. "I'll be right back," She said mainly to Joey and slithered out of the room with minimal sound.

"So," Ana spoke to Joey as she went to recollect the darts from the bristle board, "what school are you in? I don't see you around often."

"Music, Theatre & Dance. You?" He replied and began to trace circles with his finger over the desk surface.

"Art & Design for ceramics. You do theatre, right?"

Joey nodded and didn't have much else to say. Neither did she, so they sat in a comfortable silence, both being attentive to the darts as they pierced into different areas of the target. After two more rounds of throwing, Kaylee returned with bacon that she probably forgot in the car.

"Hey, you gonna eat all that?" Ana eyed the package in her hands.

"I don't know. If I don't finish you can take it." The ginger sat on the floor before the preheated skillet and started with placing three of the uncooked burgers in the skillet. She sat with the spatula in her hand and watched the pink meat begin to cook. "An, could you be a doll and get cheese out of the fridge for me since I'm making you lunch?"

"Mhmm," She finally decided to put out her pipe and rolled out of bed to take out three cheese slices and leave them next to the bacon.

"Thanks," Kaylee flipped all of the contents of the skillet to reveal their brown sides and began to lay out strips of bacon on the pan. Ana returns to sit cross-legged like Kaylee on her bed and busies herself on her phone. Joey keeps his gaze out the window at the snow covered trees and bushes, also the occasional pedestrian.

"Dammit, sorry darling, Dee just asked me to –"

"Go ahead, I'll wrap yours up and put it in the fridge."

The Latina stood and threw on her Uggs and Northface, throwing a "thank you" over her shoulder before she left. A click from the deadbolt made Kaylee release a sigh of relief.

"Sorry about that, I thought she already left." She began to rip the plastic packaging off each individual slice and set them over each burger.

"It's fine. She doesn't seem that bad, besides the pipe." He neglected the swivel chair and now made himself comfortable on the opposite side of the skillet.

"Really?" She flipped the burgers over at let the cheese melt for a few seconds before twisting the dial over the section that read "OFF" in red letters. "She didn't do anything?"

"No, why? Is she known to do so?" Joey stood back on his feet to fetch the buns and plastic plates that were right on top of the mini fridge. Kaylee smiled and mouthed a "thanks" when she was handed the items.

"When I moved in she spent the first week asking me for weed money." She untied the bag and reached for two rolls, then pried them apart and laid them in pairs on two plates, "And she tried to sell me bongs that she made with all of the excess clay from her ceramics classes. It wasn't until after my first month that she started acting less marijuana-crazed and we became some kind of acquaintances. Thankfully I persuaded her into only smoking tobacco when she's here with the windows opened. We take responsibilities for dinner each week. So basically, on the weekend one of us preps and then leaves it in the fridge."

"Well that's neat," He smiled and took the plate that was handed to him. "You know, besides the begging part, I guess."

"Yeah… You sure you want to keep your coat on? It's gonna be fucking freezing when we leave."

Joey had forgotten to take off his jacket and knew that she was right about the temperature when they would step outside. He took another look around the room and just noticed the Christmas gift he got her on display on one of the shelves beside the window. "Did you like your gift?" He asked, noticing the plush manipulator arm poking out from his angle.

"_Did I like it?_ I absolutely LOVE my Dalek. He is gorgeous." She scrambled to her feet and pulled down the red and gray robot from the shelf. "I mean like, _it talks, Joey._ This is probably the best invention since the Han Solo ice cube trays!"

She squished one of the dots that were aligned vertically with her finger. His eyes widened and his eyebrows snapped together as the plushie squealed "_EX-TER-MIN-ATE!" _

He took a bite and then set down the sandwich to actually take off his coat. He tucked it away in the corner and readjusted his UMich hoodie before continuing his lunch. "So do you want to do anything?" Kaylee questioned, setting the Dalek aside to eat.

Joey shrugged since his mouth was full at the moment. "Up to you." He said once he finished swallowing.

"Is bumming out and watching movies okay?" She asked. Joey nodded, remembering the snacks they had.

"Yeah, of course." He agreed. They ate in silence since they were both pretty hungry and he helped her clean up lunch. Once the skillet cooled off, Kaylee went down the hall to wash it along with the spatula and she told him to select the movie first since he was the guest. Before she returned he already tossed the plates in the trash and put the rest of the uncooked meat in the fridge.

"Did you choose one yet?" She returned with the pan and spatula and tucked them back in their places under Ana's bed.

"Oh, not yet, I was just putting some stuff away."

"You didn't have to you know," She tilted her head the side and sighed. Joey shrugged and leant against the windowsill. "Okay, now you choose the first movie, since you're the guest. I'll just get Netflix up first." Kaylee climbed up the ladder to her bunk and pulled down her laptop.

It took a few minutes for the movie library to load and they both sat against the side of the desk closest to the window. "Oh wait, I forgot the snacks." She stood and picked the pockets of her parka that hung from the door and drew out the two bags of sour gummy worms and the already opened pack of Red Vines before finding her place next to him again.

"_Obsessed_?" He suggests, pointing to the picture of Beyoncé, Ali Larter and Idris Elba with the title across the middle in black and white letters.

"Sure." She clicks on it and leans back against the desk to watch the movie.

"You go Beyoncé! Beat dat hoe!"

"Mmm stupid ass bitch needs to know when enough is enough." Joey agreed and followed along with the ghetto slang. The snacks were gone halfway through the film, so the next best substitute they had was to interject opinions and act like sassy motherfuckers.

They had ignored the fact that Beyoncé's character was named Sharon but addressed the other actors by their character's names. On the screen, Beyoncé was balancing on the beams that supported the ceiling, trying to maneuver around them to bash Lisa since she broke into her house and started creeping on their kid, too.

"No Beyoncé! What – no! Let the crazy bitch die!" Kaylee shouted at the laptop as Beyoncé offered a hand to help save Lisa when she broke through a weak part of the attic. Lisa took her hand, but instead yanked her down with her in an attempt to kill her. The ceiling finally began to collapse and Beyoncé pried her off just in time to watch that bitch fall. Lisa dangled from the chandelier for a few seconds until she slipped and fell to her death on a glass table below her.

Joey and Kaylee began to applaud for Beyoncé's ninja ass skills until Lisa's eyes flew open again. "How?!" He exclaimed, raising his arms in emphasis. "You don't just do that! Bitch, go die again!"

That time the chandelier finally fell onto her and actually killed her. "It's about time! She didn't even need da po-po for dat crazy ass mo'fo'. Beyoncé beat anyone's ass if they touch her man." Kaylee snapped her fingers in a Z-formation with a small hairflip.

"Mmmmmmmmmmhm." He nodded, and watched the credits begin to scroll. "Your turn, now."

She thought for a while before asking, "Can we watch your musical? The Harry Potter one?"

"Oh, sure." He said after blinking a few times and exited out of Netflix. When the Google Chrome browser opened, he searched for their channel on YouTube and sat back.

"You guys have like a million views!" Kaylee exclaimed, her eyes glowing as he set the video to full screen mode. A grin crept onto her face when the red and yellow title appeared. "You know what," She paused it before the title faded and crept up to her bunk, "I think I may pull out the emergency snacks for this occasion."

Joey tilted his head back to see her drop down a pack of Twizzlers and a bag of Hershey's Kisses. "Jesus, you come prepared for like the apocalypse." He joked with his crooked smile and didn't press play until she was back beside him.

"In case if you were never informed, menstruation _is _the apocalypse."

"Uh-huh."

"It's true."

"Whatever floats your boat, Kay."

She playfully punched him in the arm and they both finally decided to watch the musical that they've been neglecting for the past few minutes with even more lovely snacks.


	7. New Year's

_**Thursday December 31**__**st**__**, 2009 – Friday January 1**__**st**__**, 2010 **_

"You still have like two more days to get yourself together after this. Go get shitfaced, man. It's celebrating not only a new year, but a new _decade_." Darren tried to cajole his friend into letting loose tonight and to get into the New Year spirit.

"After how I had to take care of you on Christmas? No, I think I've learned enough from you. Thanks though." Joey teased and checked the time. They were supposed to be at the Bell Tower Hotel by eleven, so they had roughly fifteen minutes to arrive. The two stood side by side in the bathroom in front of their mirror, readjusting stray hairs and their ties.

"So now that my head isn't severely aching anymore, how bad was it watching over us on Christmas?" Darren asked as he tightened his turquoise tie. He grinned as he moved on from his tie and rolled up the sleeves of his black buttoned shirt when Joey sighed, trying to figure out where to begin.

"You guys were like… out of control preschoolers, except on a less innocent level." The taller man shook his head and tilted his head forward slightly to fix the collar of his shirt. "Dylan could barely stand on his own, Jaime managed to get lost in the hallway, Lauren and Joe were eating each other's faces, Bri was -" He stopped himself, remembering what Kaylee told him, and lied, since that was kind of a secret between them. "-just a typical drunk, and _you,_" He looked at Darren in the mirror, "nearly set the apartment on fire."

Darren gaped at Joey in the mirror and then turned to him. "You're bullshitting!"

"I shit you not," He said in a dapper tone, and smoothed his dark green tie against his white buttoned shirt before twirling on his heel toward the door.

Kaylee felt awkward having Lauren assist her. She said it was a great way to get to know "the girls" better. She had been finished far before her and offered to help while she waited. The whole Starkid theatre group would be attending this thing, so she got to meet even more people.

How exciting.

She had been sitting on Lauren's bed in a thick, warm lavender robe while the tiny girl worked on her hair. Kaylee honestly had no idea what she was really doing to her hair and instead focused on the red nail polish drying on her fingers and toes and the stereo that was set on a radio station. Her doorbell rung and she excused herself to go get it.

Girly shrieks and compliments at the door made her worry. There was no way she could keep her cool around these people. Especially when there's so _many_.

"Oh, you haven't met Kaylee yet, I'm helping her get ready in the other room." Footsteps on the wooden floors grew louder and eventually she came face to face with another new person. She was a bit taller than she and wore a black halter dress with matching stilettos. Lauren was only a second behind and introduced the two. "Julia, this is Kaylee. She's in the Art & Design school."

Julia waved and Kaylee returned one to be polite, though she would much rather be at home watching the Star Wars series again with a tub of Oreo ice cream. "How long did it take you do that, Lo?" Julia's greyish-blue eyes rested on Kaylee's hair.

"I don't even know… a little less than an hour, I'd say?" She stood in front of the ginger's view and added some finishing touches. "And we're finished! Let me just add some of this…" Lauren gave her the signal to close her eyes. She obeyed and held her breath, knowing that the air around her would temporarily be polluted with hairspray.

"It came out nice!" Julia commented. After a few seconds later, she cracked open one of her eyes and turned to the mirror.

"Shit," She breathed in disbelief, desperately wanting to touch it and see if it weren't just an illusion. The orange waves that she was so used to have been transformed into a simple and sophisticated bun. "Thanks, Lauren."

"No problem at all, Special Kay. Now we only have a few finishing touches, then you slip into your lovely outfit and then we bounce. So would you do me a favor and just close your eyes again?" Lauren poked around her vanity for her liquid eyeliner, mascara and… _are you fucking kidding me. _She closed her eyes and ignored the part of her that was slowly dying on the inside.

"You don't think they'll mind that much if were late, do you?" Darren asked as he opened and closed every door in the kitchen, looking for his car keys.

"There's still… eighteen other people, I think we'll be okay." Joey was lying flat on the floor in the living room, reaching his hands around under the couch.

"Found them!" A jingle from the archway of the living room caught Joey's attention and he went to get his peacoat. Darren already started down the stairs to warm up the car and was soon followed by his roommate.

Once they exited the building, all feeling was lost from their fingertips and faces in the cold. The dim streetlights revealed the tiny snowflakes that were secretly blowing around in the howling wind. They should be at the place in about twenty minutes or so; Joe said that it was right near the central campus.

Joey began to feel worried once they pulled out of the parking lot. He knew Kaylee didn't do well with big crowds, and they were pretty close now. She was probably one of his best friends at the moment and leaving her hanging made him feel like a douche.

"Hey," A familiar voice called from behind Kaylee and made her turn around. Brolden gave a half-smile, knowing that things were a bit uneasy between them since Christmas.

"Hello," She answered simply, keeping her responses terse. All she wanted to do was camouflage into the tan walls of the room and avoid everyone.

"Look, I'm _really_ sorry about Christmas, I know it was way out of line for me –" He began rambling and dropped his gaze down to the carpet worn and faded with age.

"It's fine, Brian, I already forgave you for that." She cut him off midsentence and looked around at the cast members from the musical, hoping that Joey would be there so she wouldn't have to be all antisocial in the corner. She checked the time on her phone and sighed.

He opened his mouth to say something for a second and then closed it when the last two people arrived. Kaylee grinned, knowing that she had finally been saved when her best friend arrived. He wore a tie of her favorite color and looked… nice. Formal wasn't his favorite attire but, he looked pretty nice, she had to admit.

Joey searched the sea of faces until he came across Kaylee. He couldn't help but stare for a second before snapping back into reality. She stood against the wall in the furthest corner with Brian at her side. Red wasn't what he thought would suit her as well as it did- she had a strapless dress that stopped right above the knee, matching open toe heels, and wore her hair up in a lavish style. Lipstick, he knew, must've taken a great amount of persuasion. She beckoned him over with her matching fingernails waving in the air.

"Hey," He took one more glance of her from head to toe before returning to her brown eyes. She nodded back and smiled, not breaking the eye contact.

"You look snazzy," She remarked, and stood only about an inch below his height with the shoes she was wearing.

"As well as you." He replied. Brian could be heard coughing from a few feet away. Joey turned his attention to him and was slightly confused when he was pulled to the side. He held up a finger to Kaylee, telling her that he'd be right back.

"What is it?" Joey asked, and kind of got the idea when he saw Brian glance back at her.

"Look, I know that Christmas was a total disaster but I think I can actually…" He shook his head and glances over to her again. Joey does the same, to confirm what he thinks is happening here. "… I think I can maybe have a chance with her, you know what I mean?"

Joey nodded, keeping his opinions to himself for a second to think things through. "Okay, so you like her. What does this have to do with me?"

"You're kidding, right?" Brian didn't mean to sound pissy so he pressed his lips into a thin line. "I think you're giving the wrong message to her, is what I'm saying. If you keep leading her on like that then –"

"I'm not leading her onto anything; she's my friend, okay?" Joey got really annoyed by his assumption. Brian didn't even know half the things about her that he did. "And if you're still planning on trying to get with her, just don't do it tonight. It's way too soon."

Before Brolden could even respond to that, Joey turned and walked back to Kaylee. If Brian _did_ ask her she'd be creeped out for sure. "What was that all about?" She looked up from her phone, which she had been using to do some reading.

"Nothing important," He shook his head and blinked a few times to try to keep calm. "Do you want like food or something? I'm pretty sure they brought everything out already." They both went to investigate the food further.

The buffet table had all the appetizers out at the moment, so the two stood at the chocolate fountain, daring each other to coat certain foods in chocolate and eat it.

"Okay… try a piece of salami." Kaylee handed over a slice of the meat from the cracker topping choices and wound it around the skewer for him a few times so it wouldn't fall off. She had started by handing him a cube of cheese, and then he had challenged her with a cracker. "We're probably gonna get sick from this before midnight."

"Well, since you do make a great point," He slowly twirled the stick under the melted chocolate drizzling out of the top, making sure every side was evenly coated, "I surrender after this."

She grimaced when he took a bite, and then began to smile. "How is it?"

"It's not necessarily bad, just… strange." He shrugged and finished off the rest of the meat.

"That was horrible of me. Oh my god, I can't believe you'd actually do it." The ginger started chuckling, feeling slightly guilty after making him eat her distorted creation.

"It's salami and chocolate, I don't see how the combo could've possibly been so bad anyways." Someone from behind tapped his shoulder. He finished the meat and turned to see Bonnie there in a sapphire one shoulder dress. "Oh, hi."

She waved back with a polite smile. "Enjoying yourself?" She leant beside him and dug around in the cooler for a specific drink. Her brunette ponytail slid off her shoulder as her hand scavenged around in the gelid ice cubes.

"Yeah I was just hanging out with –" He stopped himself, remembering that this was the first time Kaylee would've been introduced to the entire group. "- my friend, Kaylee." Joey gestured to the girl beside him, now eating one of the pretzels she had just poked into the fountain. "She's in the Art & Design School."

Bonnie nodded and smiled to Kaylee. A wave was the best reply she could give at the moment since her face was stuffed. "That's nice, so how are classes?"

Kaylee shot Joey a quick glance, begging him to cause a distraction of some sort so that she didn't have to engage in conversation. He raised an eyebrow in return, knowing that some time she'd have to talk to these people.

"They're fine, how about you?" Both of them knew that brief answers were all she had intended to give out to these people tonight if they tried to make conversation. Joey could tell that Kaylee didn't exactly crave a detailed reply from her.

"They're going great, actually." Kaylee's face was starting to become sore by smiling and thankfully, a silence set around them. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Kaylee." Bonnie stepped back with her beer bottle in her hands and left the two at the table.

Kaylee's smile turned back to a neutral expression in an instant. "Smiling really fucking hurts." She stated before reaching for another pretzel. Joey shook his head and laughed to himself.

"Well it takes more muscles to frown, you know."

"_I like a good workout._" He raised his eyebrows at the sudden masculine tone. The corners of her red lips curved slightly at the edges, as if to suppress a smile. The ginger finally cracked and let out her grin.

"There you go, enjoy yourself!" Joey encouraged. He checked the time on his phone since the room they were in didn't seem to have a clock. "We have eighteen minutes."

"What? Until this ends or?"

"No, until 2010."

"Oh," She yawned and looked around the room at the slightly tipsy crowd. "I think I'm going to go after the actual New Year thing. I still have to get my project done."

"Are you like, almost done?" He asked, hoping that he wasn't keeping her from her work.

"Yeah, I only have to put together the bibliography, which should be done in like ten minutes." Kaylee shrugged, still eying everyone else. He noticed her red fingernails running along the edges of her clutch purse and her brown eyes now all over the place.

"You okay?" Joey was still aware of her crowd anxiety and wanted her to feel more comfortable around these people but apparently, that wasn't going to happen the way he had planned. She gave him a glare that said "No, there are people everywhere and they all suck," and he wondered if anyone would even notice them if they were to step outside for a second.

"Do you want to take a walk for a few minutes?" He offered, extending a hand like the gentleman he was. She studied his hand for a second before politely smiling and nodding. She put her cold hand in his much warmer one and he led them through the formally dressed crowd. He did one quick glance around the room before walking out of the door, not missing Brolden's glare at all. Joey picked up the pace a little as they emerged into the main lobby. They stood in between two dark ebony columns, slowing down to fully admire all the exquisite décor surrounding them.

The clacks of Kaylee's heels and the hum of the party behind them were the only sounds that they could hear. "It's snowing," Kaylee pointed out absently as she looked ahead past the red and brown lobby to the revolving door where snowflakes could just barely be seen under the dim lighting outside. Joey turned his attention from the potted plant on the reception desk that he tried to figure out was fake or not and smiled a little. There was nothing bad about snow. Besides shoveling and catching colds, but it was worth it.

"Do you want me to go back and get my jacket?"

"No, no I'll be fine. Thanks though." She shook her head and brushed an out of place hair from her right eye. Getting excited, she dragged him along gently and pushed the glass revolving door and temporarily closed them into a small space. "Holy shit," Once they stepped out of the building their breath curled up into the air before them in a fog. She ran her arms along her arms to try to warm them.

"Now do you want my coat?" Joey could already see her knees trembling, and he'd be doing the exact same if he were wearing a strapless cocktail dress. She gave him a sympathetic smile over her shoulder. The tip of her nose, ears and fingers had flushed into a rosy pink from frostbite.

"Is that okay?" Kaylee started to confine back into one of the quadrants of the revolving door. He nodded and followed behind her, instantly embracing the warmth from the heated building. Honestly, he didn't want to go back in, knowing that he may or may not be confronted by Brian again. When they turned the corner into the coat room, it was thankfully empty. At this point, Brian could definitely screw himself, in Joey's opinion. Hitting on a friend is one thing, but making them uncomfortable is another.

He had no idea why he was still getting so worked up about this if she had said it was fine, maybe it was just him. Retrieving his blazer from a hanger, he set it over Kaylee's bare shoulders for her to wear. "Thanks, Joey," She shimmied her arms into the sleeves and they both walked at a comfortable pace back to the revolving door.

The howling winds didn't seem to faze her as effectively. In fact she seemed snug in the oversized coat. Banks of snow were neatly shoveled on the edge of the sidewalk and glimmered under the streetlights. He pulled out his phone to check the time –seven minutes left. "So are you starting to feel kind of better?" He started to make some kind of conversation as they padded down the street to no specific destination.

"Yeah," She nodded and shoved her hands into the blazer pockets. "What about you? You kind of seem pissed over something."

Joey clenched his jaw, unsure whether or not he should say anything about Brian to her. He had to come up with something to lighten the mood for the both of them. "Nah, I'm fine." His eyes trailed down to his feet, and then the abundance of snow to his immediate right. He took a moment the gather a handful and to squeeze it into a snowball. His fingers had begun to burn and tingle slightly from holding it for far too long, so he chucked it right at her back.

It exploded into a cloud of fluffy flakes and left an outline of the impact against the black fabric. Her head whipped around so fast he was almost sure she'd get whiplash, to the man trying to keep an innocent appearance. "Just so you know, I definitely did _not _throw a snowball at you." He raised his hands defensively as a devious smirk spread on her face.

Of course Kaylee was going to get her revenge, there's no way in hell she'd just let snowballs be thrown around without her fucking bashing on her opponent. Kicking off the heels that Lauren had oh-so-kindly picked out for her, she abandoned them on the sidewalk and began to pat her own snowball. The only difference was that she planned to make this one big motherfucking snowball.

"What are you doing, Kay?" Joey stood by her side, watching her put together her weapon of mass destruction. "I recommend you put your shoes back on -it's pretty cold."

She only shook her head and finally finished her creation, which was probably half the size of her head. "What are you doing?" He asked, taking a step back as she had begun to approach with the massive amount of snow. Kaylee's smirk had gone to a full out grin at the point, and decided to take this perfect advantage for her to suddenly run and pelt him in the torso with her fabulous snowball.

"Now we're even." She chirped, smugly grinning at his snow-dusted tie. She spun on her heel and went to fetch her shoes which she had left behind. For Joey, there is no "even" in snowball fights, and there was absolutely not a chance that he'd let her win. Catching up behind her, he gave her a bear hug from behind and threw them both into the enormous bank of snow beside them. The shriek of surprise from the ginger girl was his victory song.

"We're still even, just so you know." Joey added as they lay in the blanket of white. Kaylee was the first to crack with laughter and it quickly spread to him, so the two shudder in a cackling heap until warm tears fell down their cheeks. When the laughter died down, a thunderous cheer from the hotel rang in their ears.

"Well then, happy 2010, Joey." She squeezed his arm, which he hadn't noticed she had been holding on to. He listened to their breath, which had become in sync from being so close to each other. A sudden wave of heat broke out through his face at the touch.

"You too, Kay." He said, and squeezed back.


End file.
